The market for computing devices, such as personal computers, laptop computers and netbook computers, for example, has continued to grow. Such computing devices generally operate using a combination of firmware and software that is configured to execute on the hardware of a given computing device. A given set of firmware and software that is used to operate a computing device may be referred to as an image, or an operating image for the computing device. Various situations may occur where it is desired to replace or repair a current image of a computing device.
For instance, a computing device's image may become corrupted. Such corruption may be the result of a malicious act. Such malicious acts include modification of a computing device's image to install malicious software or “malware” (e.g., viruses, spyware, password sniffers, etc.). Corruption of an image may also occur as a result of other causes. For example, a computing device's image could become corrupted as a result of an update to the image (e.g., to improve functionality or to enhance security of the computing device) being interrupted due to loss of network connectivity, a power failure, or a number of other factors. In these instances, it is desirable that the corrupted image be replaced or repaired with an image that is free of corruption, such as malware.
In other situations, a user may load an alternative image onto a computing device and then, at a later point, wish to restore the computing device to its original image, or to install another alternative image on the computing. In these situations, it is desirable to replace the alternative image with an image that is free of corruption, such as malware, for example.